How many schools have reached the College Football Playoff and Final Four in the same year?

The Final Four is the pinnacle of college basketball, a step in the journey to a national championship that, depending on the stature and expectations of the participating program, can feel a bit like a destination itself.

This week; UConn, Purdue, Alabama and NC State have descended upon State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, each nursing championship dreams while appreciating that they’ve made it to their sport’s biggest and most sought-after stage.

Making it this far in the NCAA Tournament is a tremendous accomplishment, one that required four victories against some of the best teams in the country. While UConn is in the Final Four for the second consecutive year, getting back to this point isn’t easy. Just look at the three other participants. NC State is in the Final Four for the first time since 1983. For Purdue, the wait has been even longer, going back to 1980. Alabama’s Final Four appearance is the first ever for a program that began playing in 1912.

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While it’s the newcomer of the group, the Crimson Tide can claim a distinction even its more decorated peers in Arizona this week can’t.

Alabama managed a rare feat during this academic year, with its two major revenue sports, basketball and football, advancing to the national semifinals in their respective sport in the same school year.

Three months before the Crimson Tide’s basketball team is preparing to square off against reigning national champion UConn Saturday night, its famed football team made the College Football Playoff as the 4 seed. Once there, it lost to 1 seed and eventual national champion Michigan 27-20 in overtime in the Rose Bowl in what would be legendary coach Nick Saban’s final game on the Alabama sideline.

Only a select handful of Division I schools have a national-championship-caliber football or men’s basketball program. Even fewer have both.

Just how uncommon is what Alabama has pulled off this year? Let’s take a look:

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How many schools have made the College Football Playoff and Final Four in the same year?

As impressive as Alabama’s achievement is, it’s not the first school to have its two marquee programs end up in the national semifinals.

During the 2015-16 academic year, Oklahoma’s football program made the College Football Playoff and its basketball program made the Final Four.

With an 11-1 record, the Sooners made the College Football Playoff in the event’s second season of existence, led by future Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield and Bob Stoops in what would be the coach’s second-to-last season at the school. As the 4 seed in the four-team field, Oklahoma fell to 1 seed Clemson 37-17 in the Orange Bowl, which was played that year on Dec. 31, 2015.

Three months later, Oklahoma’s basketball team made its fifth ever Final Four and first since 2002. National player of the year Buddy Hield averaged 29.3 points per game in the Sooners’ first four games, capped off by a 37-point effort on 8-of-13 shooting from 3-point range in an Elite Eight victory against Oregon. Oklahoma’s run ended in the national semifinals, where it lost to eventual national champion Villanova 95-51 in what was the biggest blowout in Final Four history.

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How many schools have made both the College Football Playoff and Final Four?

Since the College Football Playoff debuted at the end of the 2014 season, five schools have made both the playoff and the Final Four during that stretch.

Here’s a list of the schools that have earned that distinction:

• Alabama
• Oregon
• Michigan State
• Oklahoma
• Michigan